CBS’s “Shark” debuted with high expectations and a fair bit of star power. James Woods plays a defense attorney-turned-prosecutor in a show that received the network’s most cushy timeslot, airing Thursdays at 10 p.m. behind “CSI.”
Yet “Shark” hasn’t come close to equaling the ratings for the previous timeslot occupant, “Without a Trace.” In adults 18-49, “Shark” trails “Trace’s” average last season by 2.2 points, or 37 percent, leading to whispers that the show was underperforming.
It’s too early to label it such. “Shark” has been building in recent weeks, and it’s doing so with a “CSI” lead-in that’s significantly weaker than the one “Trace” enjoyed last year. In fact, if you look at the numbers from “Trace’s” first season in 2002-’03, “Shark” compares surprisingly favorably.
That suggests that “Shark” could mushroom into a hit after a somewhat slow start, much as “Trace” did. In “Trace’s” first season, it averaged a 4.7 rating, retaining 58 percent of “CSI’s” lead-in. This year “Shark” is averaging a 3.7 rating, retaining 55 percent of “CSI’s” lead-in.
If “CSI,” whose rating has declined 24 percent compared with its first year as a lead-in for “Trace,” was delivering better numbers, “Shark’s” rating could be right around where “Trace” was four years ago.
And “Shark” has been rising over recent weeks. Last week a repeat episode ranked first in its timeslot, bettering its season average by 0.1 and topping ABC’s original “Men in Trees.” The previous week, a new episode averaged a 4.4, 19 percent above its season average.
Tonight’s original episode focuses on a real estate developer who’s murdered, and there are plenty of people vying for top suspect in the case.
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A look at this week’s top TV draws |
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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 1 |
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Time |
Network |
Program |
Description |
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8 p.m. |
ABC |
"Ugly Betty" (D) |
Betty tries to prepare herself for a Mode event during Fashion Week in NYC. |
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8 p.m. |
TNT |
"NBA Basketball" (S) |
LeBron and the Cavs take on Shaq, D-Wade and the Heat. |
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8:30 p.m. |
NBC |
"The Office" (C) |
Karen tries to get Pam to tell her about her past with Jim. |
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9 p.m. |
CBS |
"CSI" (D) |
An ex-con’s body is found badly burned and stripped of various tissues. |
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9 p.m. |
ABC |
"Grey's Anatomy" (D) |
Proposers O’Malley and Burke wait to hear back from proposees Callie and Cristina. |
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9 p.m. |
NBC |
"ER" (D) |
Ames tries to get revenge on Kovac, and Sam is suspicious about how the house caught on fire. |
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10 p.m. |
MTV |
"Juvies" (R) |
Series premiere. Cameras follow some inmates at Lake County Juvenile Center in Indiana. |
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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 2 |
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Time |
Network |
Program |
Description |
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7 a.m. |
NBC |
"Today" (N) |
Jeremy Schaap guests to discuss about his new book about Jesse Owens and the Olympics. |
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8 p.m. |
Fox |
"Nanny 911" (R) |
Nanny Stella tries to help a couple parents who use bribery to get their kids to behave. |
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8 p.m. |
CBS |
"Ghost Whisperer" (D) |
A guy who dies in a street race haunts his fiancée, whom he thinks was responsible. |
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9 p.m. |
NBC |
"Las Vegas" (D) |
Ed's rage leads him to an anger management class. |
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9 p.m. |
CBS |
"Super Bowl's Greatest Commercials 2007" (A) |
Jim Nantz and Daisy Fuentes count down the top commercials in Super Bowl history. |
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10 p.m. |
Noggin |
"Degrassi: The Next Generation" (D) |
Manny tells Toby to keep a secret from Liberty, but that's easier said than done. |
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SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 3 |
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Time |
Network |
Program |
Description |
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3:30 p.m. |
ABC |
"College Basketball" (S) |
In-state rivalry game between North Carolina and North Carolina State. |
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4 p.m. |
CBS |
"College Basketball" (S) |
Huge Big Ten game between Ohio State and Michigan State. |
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8 p.m. |
Fox |
"Cops" (R) |
Two separate cops in different parts of Florida both deal with crack users. |
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9 p.m. |
ESPN |
"College Basketball" (S) |
Two teams having great seasons, Texas A&M and Kansas, face off in a big conference game. |
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9 p.m. |
Showtime |
"Boxing" (S) |
Undefeated middleweights Tomasz Adamek and Chad Dawson fight in Miami for Adamek's title. |
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10 p.m. |
ESPN |
"ESPN After Dark: Miami" (A, S) |
Miami athletes show viewers what it's like to live, work and play in Miami. |
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SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 4 |
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Time |
Network |
Program |
Description |
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2 p.m. |
CBS |
"Super Bowl Today" (S) |
Get pumped up for the game with three-plus hours of pregame. |
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2:30 p.m. |
ABC |
"NBA Basketball" (S) |
The Pistons take on the Cavs in a game to have on while you make your Super Bowl food. |
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6:25 p.m. |
ABC |
"NFL Football" (S) |
Finally, after all the hype, it's Bears versus Colts in Super Bowl XLI. |
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8 p.m. |
ESPN |
"Figure Skating" (S) |
For those not into football, a replay of last weekend's U.S. Championships. |
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9 p.m. |
HBO |
"Rome" (D) |
Octavian lets it be known that he's returning to Rome with an army. |
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10 p.m. |
CBS |
"Criminal Minds" (D) |
First of a two-parter in which the team looks for killers who record their crimes with webcams. |
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10:30 p.m. |
HBO |
"Extras" (C) |
Andy embarrasses himself at the BAFTA ceremony. |
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A = awards show or special, C = comedy, D = drama, DD = daytime drama, G = game show, K = kids, M = movie, N = news/documentary, R = reality, S = sports, T = talk/variety show. |
